Question 1

Which of the following would be least likely in the fossil record?

Accepted Answer

A) burrowing species 
B) marine-dwelling species 
C) marsh-dwelling species 
D) desert-dwelling species 
A) burrowing species 
B) marine-dwelling species 
C) marsh-dwelling species 
D) desert-dwelling species D

Question 2

How do mass extinctions differ from background extinctions?

Accepted Answer

A) Mass extinctions account for most species that have gone extinct in the history of life on Earth. 
B) It is now recognized that mass extinctions but not background extinctions are generally caused by asteroid impacts. 
C) During mass extinctions a large proportion of organisms that were alive at that time die out. 
D) Background extinctions don't lead to great numbers of species lost. 
A) Mass extinctions account for most species that have gone extinct in the history of life on Earth. 
B) It is now recognized that mass extinctions but not background extinctions are generally caused by asteroid impacts. 
C) During mass extinctions a large proportion of organisms that were alive at that time die out. 
D) Background extinctions don't lead to great numbers of species lost. C

Question 3

The Permian period ends with a massive extinction event and then rapid speciation occurs as new animal and plant forms come into being.The most likely explanation for this is _____.

Accepted Answer

A) adaptive radiation. 
B) ecological opportunity 
C) lack of competition 
D) morphological innovation 
E) all but one of the above 
A) adaptive radiation. 
B) ecological opportunity 
C) lack of competition 
D) morphological innovation 
E) all but one of the above E

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of homoplasy?

Accepted Answer

A) fur in bears and seals 
B) cell walls in plants and fungi 
C) chlorophyll in flowering plants and algae 
D) scales in snakes and lizards 
A) fur in bears and seals 
B) cell walls in plants and fungi 
C) chlorophyll in flowering plants and algae 
D) scales in snakes and lizards

Question 5

The phenetic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Accepted Answer

A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept 
A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept

Question 6

Which of the following are typically responsible for island extinctions?

Accepted Answer

A) habitat destruction 
B) overharvesting and introduction of nonnative predators and herbivores 
C) earthquakes followed by tsunamis 
D) increased CO₂ levels and global warming 
A) habitat destruction 
B) overharvesting and introduction of nonnative predators and herbivores 
C) earthquakes followed by tsunamis 
D) increased CO₂ levels and global warming

Question 7

Figure 27.9
  
-A hypothetical island lies far from any other landmasses.There are many different types of plants,but only one animal a beetle that can fly or walk from plant to plant and feeds by chewing leaves.Given that the beetle is not exploiting all the resources on the island,which morphological change would be most likely to trigger an adaptive radiation of the beetles?

Accepted Answer

A) a change in wing shape that improves flight speed 
B) an additional segment on a pair of legs 
C) a mouthpart that can pierce fruits and seeds 
A) a change in wing shape that improves flight speed 
B) an additional segment on a pair of legs 
C) a mouthpart that can pierce fruits and seeds

Question 8

Your professor wants you to construct a phylogenetic tree of orchids.She gives you tissue from seven orchid species and one lily.What is the most likely reason she gave you the lily?

Accepted Answer

A) to serve as an outgroup 
B) to see if it's a cryptic orchid species 
C) to see if the lily and the orchids show all the same shared derived characters (synapomorphies) 
D) to see if you were paying attention 
E) to demonstrate likely homoplasies 
A) to serve as an outgroup 
B) to see if it's a cryptic orchid species 
C) to see if the lily and the orchids show all the same shared derived characters (synapomorphies) 
D) to see if you were paying attention 
E) to demonstrate likely homoplasies

Question 9

The cladistic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Accepted Answer

A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept 
A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept

Question 10

Figure 27.6
  
-Applying the principle of parsimony to the trait "ability to fly," which of the two phylogenetic trees above is better?

Accepted Answer

A) Tree 1 
B) Tree 2 
C) Both trees are equally parsimonious. 
D) Since the trees show different evolutionary relationships,you cannot determine which is more parsimonious. 
E) Because Tree 2 correctly groups mammals,"ability to fly" is not a parsimonious trait to consider. 
A) Tree 1 
B) Tree 2 
C) Both trees are equally parsimonious. 
D) Since the trees show different evolutionary relationships,you cannot determine which is more parsimonious. 
E) Because Tree 2 correctly groups mammals,"ability to fly" is not a parsimonious trait to consider.

Question 11

The largest extinction,measured as a percentage of species that disappeared,occurred at the end of which geological period?

Accepted Answer

A) Permian 
B) Cretaceous 
C) Tertiary 
D) Devonian 
E) Silurian 
A) Permian 
B) Cretaceous 
C) Tertiary 
D) Devonian 
E) Silurian

Question 12

Islands are well known for having many endemic species species that are unique to that location.What is a likely explanation for this pattern?

Accepted Answer

A) Colonizers encounter fewer competitors on an island,so they can diversify. 
B) Islands are more complex habitats than continents are,so they have more niches for specialization. 
C) Humans bring partly or fully domesticated species with them when they arrive on islands. 
D) The type of organism that is a good colonizer has more than the average amount of genetic variability,so it's more likely to speciate. 
E) Islands are often distant from mainlands and therefore island species cannot emigrate to other areas. 
A) Colonizers encounter fewer competitors on an island,so they can diversify. 
B) Islands are more complex habitats than continents are,so they have more niches for specialization. 
C) Humans bring partly or fully domesticated species with them when they arrive on islands. 
D) The type of organism that is a good colonizer has more than the average amount of genetic variability,so it's more likely to speciate. 
E) Islands are often distant from mainlands and therefore island species cannot emigrate to other areas.

Question 13

Figure 27.5
  
-In the phylogenetic trees above,numbers represent species and the same species are shown in both trees.Which two species are represented as sister species in Tree 2 but are not shown as sister species in Tree 1?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 and 2 
B) 2 and 3 
C) 3 and 4 
D) 4 and 5 
E) 5 and 6 
A) 1 and 2 
B) 2 and 3 
C) 3 and 4 
D) 4 and 5 
E) 5 and 6

Question 14

Which listing of geological periods is in the correct order,from oldest to most recent?

Accepted Answer

A) Cambrian,Devonian,Permian,Cretaceous 
B) Devonian,Cambrian,Permian,Cretaceous 
C) Cambrian,Permian,Devonian,Cretaceous 
D) Permian,Cambrian,Cretaceous,Devonian 
A) Cambrian,Devonian,Permian,Cretaceous 
B) Devonian,Cambrian,Permian,Cretaceous 
C) Cambrian,Permian,Devonian,Cretaceous 
D) Permian,Cambrian,Cretaceous,Devonian

Question 15

Which value(s)would be required to calculate how long ago the most recent ancestor of ungulates lived?

Accepted Answer

A) the number of base pairs that differ among species in a certain genetic sequence 
B) the total number of base pairs in the genetic sequence examined 
C) the age of a fossil ancestor for calibration 
D) all of the above 
A) the number of base pairs that differ among species in a certain genetic sequence 
B) the total number of base pairs in the genetic sequence examined 
C) the age of a fossil ancestor for calibration 
D) all of the above

Question 16

Figure 27.1
  
-Which of the following trees depicts the same relationship among species as shown above?

Accepted Answer

A)    
B)    
C)    
D) None;the above trees all depict a different relationship among species. 
A)    
B)    
C)    
D) None;the above trees all depict a different relationship among species.

Question 17

For many years scientists believed that almost all animal lineages burst into being during the Cambrian era (just after the end of the Precambrian super eon).However,there have been many recent findings of animal-like fossils and "trace fossils" (fossils of an animal-like organisms movement)from the late Precambrian.Which of the following best explains why it took so long to realize there was animal-like life in the Precambrian?

Accepted Answer

A) There were no animals in the Precambrian. 
B) Animals from the late Precambrian had soft bodies. 
C) There were many hard-shelled animals in the Cambrian. 
D) The global climate was such that there was poor fossilization in the Precambrian. 
E) There were very few animals during this period. 
A) There were no animals in the Precambrian. 
B) Animals from the late Precambrian had soft bodies. 
C) There were many hard-shelled animals in the Cambrian. 
D) The global climate was such that there was poor fossilization in the Precambrian. 
E) There were very few animals during this period.

Question 18

You are the lucky student of a wacky professor who develops a time machine and he asks if you will test it with him.You get in and there's an immediate glitch-the date readout fails so that when you land you're not sure what era you're in.Your professor begins to panic,but you see something that tells you you're in the Cenozoic era.Which of the following could it be?

Accepted Answer

A) a rabbit eating a daisy 
B) a water lily floating in a pond 
C) masses of green ferns with dragonflies hovering above them 
D) a bee pollinating a flower 
E) many birds flying and roosting near the time machine 
A) a rabbit eating a daisy 
B) a water lily floating in a pond 
C) masses of green ferns with dragonflies hovering above them 
D) a bee pollinating a flower 
E) many birds flying and roosting near the time machine

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true about a phylogeny,as represented by a phylogenetic tree?

Accepted Answer

A) Descendant groups (branches)from the same node do not necessarily share any derived characters. 
B) A monophyletic group can be properly based on convergent features in addition to synapomorphies. 
C) The ancestral group often has all the synapomorphies of the descendant species. 
D) All of the above answers is correct. 
E) None of the above answers is correct. 
A) Descendant groups (branches)from the same node do not necessarily share any derived characters. 
B) A monophyletic group can be properly based on convergent features in addition to synapomorphies. 
C) The ancestral group often has all the synapomorphies of the descendant species. 
D) All of the above answers is correct. 
E) None of the above answers is correct.

Question 20

Which of the following likely has the most Hox genes?

Accepted Answer

A) jellyfish 
B) slugs 
C) dolphins 
D) bees 
A) jellyfish 
B) slugs 
C) dolphins 
D) bees

Exam 27: Phylogenies and the History of Life

Which of the following would be least likely in the fossil record?

How do mass extinctions differ from background extinctions?

The Permian period ends with a massive extinction event and then rapid speciation occurs as new animal and plant forms come into being.The most likely explanation for this is _____.

Which of the following is an example of homoplasy?

The phenetic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Which of the following are typically responsible for island extinctions?

Your professor wants you to construct a phylogenetic tree of orchids.She gives you tissue from seven orchid species and one lily.What is the most likely reason she gave you the lily?

The cladistic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Figure 27.6 -Applying the principle of parsimony to the trait "ability to fly," which of the two phylogenetic trees above is better?

The largest extinction,measured as a percentage of species that disappeared,occurred at the end of which geological period?

Islands are well known for having many endemic species species that are unique to that location.What is a likely explanation for this pattern?

Figure 27.5 -In the phylogenetic trees above,numbers represent species and the same species are shown in both trees.Which two species are represented as sister species in Tree 2 but are not shown as sister species in Tree 1?

Which listing of geological periods is in the correct order,from oldest to most recent?

Which value(s)would be required to calculate how long ago the most recent ancestor of ungulates lived?

Figure 27.1 -Which of the following trees depicts the same relationship among species as shown above?

Which of the following statements is true about a phylogeny,as represented by a phylogenetic tree?

Which of the following likely has the most Hox genes?

Biology and the Tree of Life

Water and Carbon: the Chemical Basis of Life

Protein Structure and Function

Nucleic Acids and the Rna World

An Introduction to Carbohydrates

Lipids, membranes, and the First Cells

Inside the Cell

Cell-Cell Interactions

Cellular Respiration and Fermentation

Photosynthesis

The Cell Cycle

Meiosis

Mendel and the Gene

Dna and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair

How Genes Work

Transcription and Translation

Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria

Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes

Analyzing and Engineering Genes

Genomics

Principles of Development

An Introduction to Animal Development

An Introduction to Plant Development

Evolution by Natural Selection

Evolutionary Processes

Speciation

Bacteria and Archaea

Protists

Green Plants

Fungi

An Introduction to Animals

Protostome Animals

Deuterostome Animals

Viruses

Plant Form and Function

Water and Sugar Transport in Plants

Plant Nutrition

Plant Sensory Systems, signals, and Responses

Plant Reproduction

Animal Form and Function

Water and Electrolyte Balance in Animals

Animal Nutrition

Gas Exchange and Circulation

Electrical Signals in Animals

Animal Sensory Systems and Movement

Chemical Signals in Animals

Animal Reproduction

The Immune System in Animals

An Introduction to Ecology

Behavioral Ecology

Population Ecology

Community Ecology

Ecosystems

Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

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